Former Oklahoma volunteer sheriff's deputy Robert Bates is facing the maximum punishment of four years in prison after a jury found him guilty on of second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Eric Harris.
Bates, 74, said he meant to shoot Harris, 44, with his stun gun but drew and fired his .38-caliber handgun instead. Harris was unarmed and restrained at the time.
Authorities say Harris was trying to sell an undercover officer a gun in a sting on April 2, 2015, when more officers arrived and he fled. Police cameras captured the exchange, chase and deadly shooting.
A single gunshot is heard, then, "Oh, I'm sorry. I shot him." Harris is heard screaming, "He shot me. Oh my God!" adding that he is having trouble breathing. A deputy responds "(Expletive) your breath."
After the shooting, an internal 2009 sheriff's office memo surfaced that questioned Bates' qualifications. Bates also was a close friend of then-Sheriff Stanley Glanz and had donated thousands of dollars in cash, vehicles and equipment to the sheriff's office.
